Business in Bookstores
by thedoctorslittlegirl
Summary: In a month Merlin went from working a bookstore-coffee shop with his two siblings to being an executive for Camelot Inc. It was like a movie, except no one mentioned the blonde who made it all happen was such a prat. Bookstore/Coffee Shop/Fashion Magazine AU
1. Chapter 1

The fresh smell of warm coffee trickled with the sting of old battered parchment filled the air of the tiny little bookstore in the middle of downtown. Inside the little store was just light enough for people to see while they were inside because the light bulb was on the last of its juice and the stubborn owner refused to let any of his worker's change it.

Towards the front of the store, near the window, was a little refreshment stand where a young coal haired boy invented all kinds of delicious creations. Across from that was the checkout where a strawberry haired girl greeted the customers with such a smile that could warm the coldest heart. In the back, was an old storage room that the owner stayed in most days keeping himself to his books. But the mystery of the Avalon Bookstore was not any of these people, in fact it was the raven haired man that drifted between the shelves placing the books gently next to their neighbors.

As the church bell rang, the mixed sound of the bell on top of the door caused the two younger workers to look up towards the door. Normally they would of started to close up, and the face at the door would of helped him.

"How was work today?" The brunette smiled, placing a bag on top of the counter next to the girl. The girl's name was Guinevere, although she preferred the shortened version Gwen, and she worked down the street at the bakery.

"Exhausting." The girl at the counter laughed, reaching her hand into the bag to pull out a treat. It had become an unspoken tradition that after her shift Gwen would come by with treats for the three hard workers, the owner tried to convince them that it was bad for their health but of course they didn't listen.

Just as the door was closing a loud thud caused the three heads to turn towards the entrance. In the doorway stood a tall man with golden blonde locks that sparkled with the sweat from his forehead. He smiled sheepishly apologizing for the noise, and when the girl crossed to him she greeted him with that infectious smile of hers.

"Good evening, sir." She said.

"I'm sorry to bother you but, I'm looking for this book on Medieval Ages and I've been absolutely everywhere in town. Are you still open?" He asked with hopeful blue eyes.

"Sorry we've just closed." She said, switching on her feet.

"Oh, thank you anyway though." He said, hanging his head and turning to the door. She grabbed his arm lightly pulling him back towards her with a smile across her face.

"I'm joking, darling. Why don't you have Casper brew you a cup of coffee, I have to go get my brother." She said, directing him towards the boy making coffee.

"Thank you." He said, nodding his head. Casper was the youngest of the three siblings, spent most of his time brewing new beverages or cooking new recipes, so not many got the chance to know he was actually quite humorous.

"Isn't she just the sweetest?" Gwen asked sitting down next to the man.

"Yes she seems quite sweet." The man nodded, turning towards the boy to tell him his order.

"Why don't you let him guess, Prince Charming." Gwen said, nodding her head to Casper.

"Prince Charming?" The man asked.

"It's a Gwen thing. She gives everyone a nickname." Casper said.

"Everyone?" The man asked.

"Baby Blue." Casper said.

"Little Red." The girl's voice carried through from the back of the store.

"And Merlin's Magic Man." Gwen finished with a smile.

"So you got a name, Prince Charming?" Casper ran the towel over his hands after placing the freshly made cup of coffee in front of the man.

"Arthur." He said, bringing the cup to his lips. After taking a sip, he licked his lips in thought and then let an audible moan, relaxing back into his chair.

"What did I tell you?" Gwen said, before Casper placed a cup in front of her.

"For the Queen." He said, pretending to bow.

"Ah, you're the sweetest." Gwen said, leaning up and pressing a kiss to the boy's skin.

"You know it." He winked, turning to clean the counter as his sister returned with the raven haired man on her arm. She cleared her throat causing the two in chairs to turn to look at her.

"This is Merlin, he'll be able to show you where that book might be." She said, sitting down next to Gwen. Arthur nodded, following Merlin towards the back of the store.

"So Medieval Ages, huh, got a paper due?" The raven asked in a sheepish voice.

"No, just some free reading." The blonde replied.

"Right." Merlin said, turning the corner to the right section.

He pointed to the shelves that would hold the book, and he watched the blonde man start from the bottom. He tried his best not to stare, it was rude after all, and as his blue eyes started to scan over the higher shelves they lit up with excitement. He reached his hand up, his fingers just short of it, and Merlin decided to help lifting his own hand up to grab the book. Their fingers brushed each other as they pulled the book down, and Merlin blushed pulling away.

"Thank you, very much." Arthur said.

"Here, let me ring it up for you." Merlin said, brushing past him once more on his way to the counter. Arthur ignored the warm feeling that spread through him as he followed the raven to the checkout.

"Find it alright?" The girl asked.

"You could of found it." Merlin mumbled.

"Yes but since you're an expert on the topic, I figured you'd enjoy finding it for him." She said, leaning over the counter.

"An expert?" Arthur asked.

"Eloise's exaggerating. I'm not an expert." Merlin said.

"Oh, right." Arthur nodded as Merlin handed him the bag with the book inside it. He stood there awkwardly for a minute, before nodding and heading toward the door.

"Have a good night." Eloise said, waving to him.

"You too. It was nice meeting you all." Arthur said, looking across the store. Casper gave him a wink, Gwen smiled at him, Eloise nodded her head, and Merlin waved sheepishly. After exiting the store, Merlin turned to his little sister with an annoyed glare across his face. Gwen laughed, as Casper whispered something in her ear.

The next day was bustling, Merlin had never seen so many people in the bookstore at once. Gwen had come to help early in the day as it was her day off, and even then they were still packed. The thing that made it even more odd was that the customers not only were coming in by the minute, but they were striking up conversation with the staff asking them about how long they've been there or why they decided on a bookstore.

At 5:00, when the church bell rang, everyone remaining in the bookstore was disappointed to be pushed out the door. Gwen had picked up something from a customer and as she waltzed back into the store, she had a huge grin plastered on her face.

"I've never made so much coffee in my life." Casper stood behind the counter while Eloise sat on top of it, and Merlin was dusting the shelves.

"We sold so many books, I'm out of change." Eloise said, motioning to the cash register.

"So guess what I found reading this week's edition of Camelot's Club?" Gwen sang, plopping it down in front of Eloise. The red head picked it up.

"What?" Casper asked, as he leaned over to look over his sister's shoulder.

"Page 15." Gwen said, pointing to the book. Eloise flipped through the book to get to the page, scanning it over with her eyes as she read and then she let out a laugh. Merlin turned to watch his sister show her younger brother the page.

"What is it?" Merlin asked, tossing the rag aside. His sister hopped off the counter backing away from him, but he followed her, so she started to read the page out loud.

"In a world of touch screen TVs and cars that can take cell phone calls, it's always nice to take a step back from the world of technology and just enjoy what used to be. This week I, CEO of Camelot's Club, took a trip to a little bookstore in downtown London. The best part wasn't the siren's smile that greeted you at the door, or the finest coffee my thousand dollar lips have ever tasted served without even taking my order. It was the calmly atmosphere that the raven haired wonder brought as if you were walking through your study at home with your best friend. I, Arthur Pendragon, highly recommend you take a stop at Avalon Bookstore and experience the homely atmosphere for yourself." Eloise laughed.

"No way, that dude was Arthur Pendragon." Casper said, in surprise.

"Whose Arthur Pendragon?" Merlin asked.

"The CEO of Camelot's Club. They keep up on the hottest things in town from clothes to people." Gwen said, jumping up and down in a giddy way.

"That was awful nice of him to write that then." Merlin said.

"Oh, Merlin didn't you listen?" Eloise hit him over the side of his head.

"Ow! What?" Merlin asked.

"He called you a raven haired wonder. He's totally into you." Eloise said with a smile.

"I'm sure he was just being nice." Merlin said, blushing slightly.

"Sure, and I'm the Queen." Eloise said, waving her hand around in mock way.

"Either way, if this continues then you guys are going to need some help." Gwen said.

"Well we made enough for Gaius to hire someone else. I mean, he doesn't pay us anyway." Casper said, and Merlin hit him over the head. The boy apologized or else he might have gotten another lecture about how much their Uncle Gaius has done for them.

"Ooh, idea! Let's hire Gwen!" Eloise said, jumping up and down.

"Gwen already has a job." Merlin said.

"She could quit, I mean she's our friend and she's a great employee, plus she could make snacks." Eloise said.

"I do love your snacks." Casper nodded.

"Well, you make some good points. Gwen do you-" Merlin didn't even get to finish his statement because he was already being pulled into a deep hug with the brunette.

"Oh I'd love to!" Gwen shouted.

"Alright, tomorrow, seven am." Merlin said.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was another hassle, to the point where at noon Merlin shooed everyone out of the store so that they could have a lunch break. They were sitting eating some sandwiches that Gwen made when the door clicked open and Merlin turned to see a woman in a very large fur coat walk in. She had long black hair, and her eyes were covered with a pair of sunglasses.

"Doesn't fur coat and sunglasses represent two completely different climates?" Casper asked in his brother's ear.

"Sorry mam, but we're not taking any customers right now." Merlin said.

"You can come back later though if you'd like." Gwen said.

The woman scoffed, then the man behind her took her coat from her, and then after she removed them took her sunglasses. As she turned to look at his brother Merlin caught sight of green eyes, not like his sister's who had mixes of blue and yellow in them, but hers were bright.

"Merlin?" She asked still staring at his brother.

"Actually I'm Casper. That's Merlin." Casper said pointing to his brother. She turned to look him up and down, like she was reading her eyes studied him hard. He didn't want to disturb her, but then again she was staring at his face for an awfully long time. Deciding on coughing, he waited for her to meet his eyes again.

"Yes, you must be Merlin then." She said, coming closer to him.

"Well I don't know another Merlin, it's a pretty uncommon name." Merlin nodded.

"Morgana Pendragon, my brother stopped my your little bookstore the other day." She said, holding out her hand. Merlin shook it careful not to break the designer nails that she had.

"Nice to meet you." Merlin replied.

"This is my assistant Mordred. Mordred say hello." Morgana said, waving her hand.

"Good day to you." The man nodded.

"Good-yeah." Casper clicked his finger at the man.

"Is there anything we can help you with, Miss Pendragon?" Gwen asked.

"Ah yes, you see my brother was very fond of your bookstore and apparently so are many others. You see many of our readers believe that little places like this aren't seen enough anymore. And I agree. So I came to inform that Camelot's Club would like to begin business with you." Morgana said.

"What kind of business?" Merlin asked, resting his arm on the counter.

"Well you see my father is holding a meeting with his best executives on that minor detail, but I would like to open you to come as well. In case you had any ideas." Morgana said.

"Hold on a second." Eloise said, walking around the counter. If there was one thing Merlin knew about this woman from being in his store is that she tends to get her way, but if there was one thing to know about his sister was that she was one in the same. It didn't surprise him to see the two green eyed females staring each other down.

"Is there a problem?" Morgana asked, amusement painted over her voice.

"How do we know that you won't try to buy us out, and then cut us?" Eloise asked, and Morgana made an offended sound.

"Someone's been studying business techniques." Morgana laughed.

"Well someone has to keep these boys in line." Eloise smiled.

"I'll tell you what, sweetheart, no one will be buying out anyone. Arthur seems quite fond of your little bookstore, and from our first exchanges I have to admit I can see why." Morgana said looking around the place once more.

"Thank you." Merlin said.

"I'll give my card, Mordred hand them my card." Morgana snapped her fingers and the boy handed Merlin a small piece of paper before returning back to his stance.

"And when shall this meeting take place?" Eloise asked.

"I'll send a car for you Friday. You keep that siren's smile of yours sweetheart, and we could be in business for a long time." Morgana winked at her, before turning to the door and heading out. Merlin watched as a few people on the street stopped to take pictures of her getting in her limo before she drove away.

"Wow." Gwen said.

"Yeah." Merlin nodded.

On Friday morning, Gwen walked into the little bookstore in a long grey dress with a black belt around it and black high heels. The first person she saw was Merlin, he was dressed in a black sweater vest and had a white dress shirt under that. Gwen walked up to him with a smile.

A moment later, Eloise joined her brother linking arms with him. Gwen looked her up and down with an expression that might resemble Merlin's mother's if she were here. The girl had a white blouse on with a blue blazer, and a pair of black dress pants with black boots that made her look slightly taller than she was.

"I suppose Merlin looking like a fine piece of cake is your doing?" Gwen asked.

"Actually no." Eloise smiled.

"Then whose was it?" Gwen asked.

"That would be my cue." Casper laughed, running up next to his sister on the other side.

Gwen took one look at the youngest of the Emrys children and she nearly gasped out loud. He was in a blue and white plaid dress shirt that was tucked into his khakis, where the end of the dark blue tie met. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows revealing the watch he had on his right wrist. A moment later, there was a knock at the door, and a young man came into the picture.

"Emrys children, you remember my brother Elyan. I decided we might need someone on the legal side of things, so it just so happened my big brother was a lawyer." Gwen said, wrapping her arm around his creased elbow.

"Nice to see you again, Elyan." Merlin said shaking the man's hand.

"You too Merlin." Elyan replied.

The sound of a car beeping caused them all to jump, but then they laughed at their nervousness. Merlin called back to his uncle letting him know they were leaving and not to open the store til they were back. They all got into the limo, and a small note on the leather seat caught their attention.

 _See you soon- A.P_

"I believe that was directed to Merlin." Casper laughed, flipping it over in his fingers.

When they were coming close to the Pendragon building, Merlin looked out the window. It was one of the largest buildings in London, he was sure of it, and most of the building was covered in see through windows. As they pulled up the driver told them to go to the lobby, and Merlin thanked him. Merlin didn't want to not give the man a tip but Elyan said so.

Arthur wait patiently in the lobby of his father's building for them to arrive. He stood with his father, his uncle, his sister and his sister's assistant. When the doorman opened the door, Arthur's breath caught in his throat at how the sight in front of him. What had originally been hair that had never even seen a comb and clothes that had who knows what stains on them, now looked like another one of the models Arthur had gone through hours to hire.

Merlin and Casper had Eloise in between while her hands rested on the elbows closest to her, and behind them Gwen was linking arms with a man Arthur didn't know. As they came closer, his father stepped past him with hand on his shoulder and a smile on his face. They all stopped, waiting for patiently for the older man to reach them.

"Good morning, I hope it wasn't any trouble getting here." His father said, to be honest it was the most polite anyone in the room had ever seen Uther Pendragon be.

"Not at all, I used to pass by it on my way to my classes but I never realized the Pendragon building was so prodigious." Eloise smiled that hypnotizing gleam of hers and Uther Pendragon was gone like the rest of them.

"Well it is quite hard to miss isn't it?" Uther laughed, and so did Eloise. Arthur turned to Morgana as if to ask if he was serious but the girl seemed just as surprised as he was.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mister Pendragon." Casper addressed, holding his hand out. Uther shook it firmly, and Arthur was not surprised that Merlin didn't join in on the whole façade. After other introductions, Arthur now knew the man was Gwen's brother, they headed up towards the conference room.

Arthur stood next to his father, who lead the group, while Morgana stood on Uther's other side. Mordred was off a little bit but still behind her, and Agravaine stood behind Gwen with her brother. Arthur watched as the five sets of eyes scanned over the people they saw rushing through the hallway, and then when they reached the conference room Mordred hurried to open the door for them.

"Ah yes, Mister Pendragon. We were getting worried." One of the men said.

"Well we had to welcome our guests." Uther said stepping aside. Mordred showed them each where to sit, to which he enjoyed being the one to boss people around for once, and the men watched as the five strangers sat straight up on the edge of their chairs.

At the head of the table of course was Uther then on the left side was Arthur, Morgana, her assistant, their uncle, and then an empty chair. Opposite Arthur was Merlin, then Eloise, then Casper, then Gwen, and her brother sat opposite the empty chair. Other executives filled the spaces, except for the one across from Elyan, and about two minutes into Agravaine's introduction speech a blonde woman waltzed in plopping herself in her chair.

"Morgause, nice of you to join us." Agravaine said.

"Always a pleasure." The blonde said with a sigh. Casper caught sight of her, and sat up further in his chair turning his head slightly so he could watch her from his peripheral vision.

After his uncle spoke, Morgana stood to talk and in all honesty Merlin wasn't able to pay attention to her speech either because Arthur kept looking at him like he was going to disappear. Then after that Uther stood with a much rather serious look calling up each executive to talk about their ideas.

Merlin didn't like any of them, but he was trying to keep an open mind and continue listening but he feared Arthur was catching on to that. Because after a man with some grey stubble talked about turning the store into a tech heaven, Arthur stood up to address his father.

"Perhaps we let one of guests propose an idea." Arthur said, giving his father a dangerous amount of eyebrow.

"I assumed since they hadn't said anything they didn't have any." Uther's words stung Merlin, Arthur could see it on his face but not only because it was true that the eldest of the children hadn't thought of any.

"We'll try not to sound offended." Eloise said, standing.

"As we blow your socks off so fast they go back to being sheep." Casper said standing with his sister. Arthur held back a giggle at the joke, while the other executives did not.

"The floor is yours." Uther bowed his head lightly, sitting back in his seat. Casper looked down at his feet for a moment, crunching his face up and then turning back to Uther.

"An ugly color, but I'll deal." Casper shrugged and this time Arthur did laugh. His father didn't even bother glaring back at him because amusement was painted on his face as well.

Casper made his way to the computer and then waved a tiny little plug in his hand. "You mind?"

Uther nodded, and he plugged it. Pulling up a presentation Merlin didn't know his siblings had created, everyone sat back listening to the two that were just at the end of their teenage years.

"You've caught our attention, now what do you plan to do with it?" Morgana asked, leaning her head over Arthur's. After turning from the woman the room nodded.

Merlin watched his two younger siblings, they spoke to the executives in a way that resembled how they did everything, in contradiction. While still maintaining a professional demeanor, they seemed to reach out to paint a picture for the businessmen and women in the room.

"When certain financial issues caused us to lose our house a couple years ago, our mother sent us to live with our Uncle Gaius. In exchange for clothes on our back, food on our plate, and the occasional luxury or two we worked in Gaius' bookstore." Casper said looking out to the executives.

"From nine to five, day in and day out, no vacation days, we made that place into a cozy little reminder of what public places used to be. People come to our little bookstore for a warm cup of coffee, a good book, and a smile." Eloise said.

"This building, and your magazine, they're names of success. Your building is a symbol of power, your magazine represents just how much influence you have in the day to day life of the most successful people." Casper walked around the room, pointing down below to the ground as he spoke.

"When Arthur Pendragon walked into our store at the beginning of the week we didn't recognize him one bit. In the day to day of the real people, people who can't afford to hide behind a bodyguard or a manager, you mean nothing." Eloise said, walking around the front to pass in front of Arthur before bringing her feet together again.

"The people are selfish. If you don't publish something that fits their idea of life, they're going to stop reading your magazine. After that, your business with crumble. Not only do you want this deal, but you need it." Casper said, pointing towards Uther for a moment and then returning his hand to his side.

"You children are treading on hot coals." Agravaine said.

"Give them the same respect you would an executive, uncle." Arthur warned.

"What kind of things to you suggest to resolve this?" Uther asked, folding his hands in front of him. Morgana sent a smile Merlin's way, one he didn't quite know how to take but as he turned to his siblings they were beaming with a new kind of confidence.

"The Pendragon building is intimidating no argument there, but it's too tall and too far from Downtown. It makes people think you are more than gods than people." Casper said.

"And there's a problem with that?" Mordred spoke for the first time.

"Yes. Although it's good to remind people of your overwhelming power, your building makes it seem like you are not connected to the average citizen. You're disconnected, to say. Our resolution is put your name on a small building downtown, that way you're not only connected but you get more publicity." Eloise said.

"But if the problem is as drastic as you say, won't the pressure just push the people away?" Arthur asked, leaning back.

"Not if your building doesn't contain windows that don't look like they're there and people who look more like CIA agents rather than editors." Casper said.

"Start with us, let the people see that Camelot is cares about average people like myself and my siblings. I'm not saying hire a bunch of orphans, just people who are a little more relatable." Eloise said.

"Is that all?" Uther asked, standing.

"Well I mean, you're limos could use some snacks, maybe get a new interior decorator." Casper said, looking around the conference room. Morgana let another laugh slip, and Mordred tried to cough over it.

"Well, we do have hired professionals for these sort of things." Uther said, straightening his tie. Merlin stood, wary of what the man might say. All of Casper's joking aside, the man had massive power and if he wanted he could take away their bookstore leaving them with no income.

"But, as you've said today we need to do some rearranging. How would you children like to come work for Camelot Inc?" Uther asked holding his hand out.

"Sir, are you serious?" Agravaine said behind him.

"Completely." Uther replied.

"I guess." Casper said, shaking the man's hand. Uther smiled, and then turned to his executives. They all stood up with straightened backs, except for the two ladies, and then Uther clicked his tongue.

"I want construction plans for Downtown, see if any of their business men are willing to make a deal." Uther said.

"If I may suggest sir, there Retailers on Main St are looking to expand to a larger location." Elyan said, moving around his sister.

"Perfect, get them on the phone." Uther shouted, and they all hurried out of the conference room.

"You guys did so good." Merlin said to his siblings, hugging them tightly. Gwen hugged them as well, the four in midst of their celebration when Uther looked at them again.

"Welcome aboard." Uther said and they all nodded.


End file.
